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Scientists have created a mouse that expresses a fluorescing biosensor in every cell of its body, allowing diseased cells and drugs to be tracked and evaluated in real time.
The biosensor is a single-molecule probe called Raichu-Rac, which was invented in 2002.
Although Raichu-Rac has been used by many research groups since then, this is the first time researchers have successfully modified a mouse to express the molecule throughout the body without affecting cell function.
The team described this work in Cell Reports.
Raichu-Rac mimics the action of the protein Rac, which drives cell movement and oscillates between active and inactive states. When Rac is active, Raichu-Rac picks up chemical cues and glows blue. When Rac is inactive, the molecule glows yellow.
Researchers found they could use imaging techniques to follow Rac activation in any organ at any time. They could watch moment-by-moment oscillation of Rac activity at the front or back of cells as they moved in the body. And they used the technology to monitor Rac activity in response to treatment.
“It allows us to watch and map, in real time, parts of a cell or organ where Rac is active and driving invasion,” said study author Paul Timpson, PhD, of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
“In cancers, a lot of blue indicates an aggressive tumor that is in the process of spreading. You can literally watch parts of a tumor turn from blue to yellow as a drug hits its target. This can be an hour or more after the drug is administered, and the effect can wane quickly or slowly. Drug companies need to know these details—specifically, how much, how often, and how long to administer drugs.”
The researchers said the mouse can be used to study any cancer type by crossing it with other models, limiting expression of Raichu-Rac to specific cell or tissue types. And the mouse can be adapted to study other diseases by expressing Raichu-Rac in different disease models.
“The great thing about this mouse is its flexibility and potential for looking at a broad range of diseases and molecular targets,” Dr Timpson said.
The mouse was created by Heidi Welch, PhD, of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK, although she said she cannot take all the credit.
“The credit must go to Professor Miki Matsuda, the genius who invented [Raichu-Rac] in the first place 12 years ago,” Dr Welch said. “He made his discovery freely available to the scientific community and has been very open about his findings since.”
“Miki Matsuda was super helpful in suggesting the expression levels we should be looking for and in recommending the exact biosensor we should use, out of many he developed.” 
Scientists have created a mouse that expresses a fluorescing biosensor in every cell of its body, allowing diseased cells and drugs to be tracked and evaluated in real time.
The biosensor is a single-molecule probe called Raichu-Rac, which was invented in 2002.
Although Raichu-Rac has been used by many research groups since then, this is the first time researchers have successfully modified a mouse to express the molecule throughout the body without affecting cell function.
The team described this work in Cell Reports.
Raichu-Rac mimics the action of the protein Rac, which drives cell movement and oscillates between active and inactive states. When Rac is active, Raichu-Rac picks up chemical cues and glows blue. When Rac is inactive, the molecule glows yellow.
Researchers found they could use imaging techniques to follow Rac activation in any organ at any time. They could watch moment-by-moment oscillation of Rac activity at the front or back of cells as they moved in the body. And they used the technology to monitor Rac activity in response to treatment.
“It allows us to watch and map, in real time, parts of a cell or organ where Rac is active and driving invasion,” said study author Paul Timpson, PhD, of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
“In cancers, a lot of blue indicates an aggressive tumor that is in the process of spreading. You can literally watch parts of a tumor turn from blue to yellow as a drug hits its target. This can be an hour or more after the drug is administered, and the effect can wane quickly or slowly. Drug companies need to know these details—specifically, how much, how often, and how long to administer drugs.”
The researchers said the mouse can be used to study any cancer type by crossing it with other models, limiting expression of Raichu-Rac to specific cell or tissue types. And the mouse can be adapted to study other diseases by expressing Raichu-Rac in different disease models.
“The great thing about this mouse is its flexibility and potential for looking at a broad range of diseases and molecular targets,” Dr Timpson said.
The mouse was created by Heidi Welch, PhD, of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK, although she said she cannot take all the credit.
“The credit must go to Professor Miki Matsuda, the genius who invented [Raichu-Rac] in the first place 12 years ago,” Dr Welch said. “He made his discovery freely available to the scientific community and has been very open about his findings since.”
“Miki Matsuda was super helpful in suggesting the expression levels we should be looking for and in recommending the exact biosensor we should use, out of many he developed.”
Scientists have created a mouse that expresses a fluorescing biosensor in every cell of its body, allowing diseased cells and drugs to be tracked and evaluated in real time.
The biosensor is a single-molecule probe called Raichu-Rac, which was invented in 2002.
Although Raichu-Rac has been used by many research groups since then, this is the first time researchers have successfully modified a mouse to express the molecule throughout the body without affecting cell function.
The team described this work in Cell Reports.
Raichu-Rac mimics the action of the protein Rac, which drives cell movement and oscillates between active and inactive states. When Rac is active, Raichu-Rac picks up chemical cues and glows blue. When Rac is inactive, the molecule glows yellow.
Researchers found they could use imaging techniques to follow Rac activation in any organ at any time. They could watch moment-by-moment oscillation of Rac activity at the front or back of cells as they moved in the body. And they used the technology to monitor Rac activity in response to treatment.
“It allows us to watch and map, in real time, parts of a cell or organ where Rac is active and driving invasion,” said study author Paul Timpson, PhD, of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
“In cancers, a lot of blue indicates an aggressive tumor that is in the process of spreading. You can literally watch parts of a tumor turn from blue to yellow as a drug hits its target. This can be an hour or more after the drug is administered, and the effect can wane quickly or slowly. Drug companies need to know these details—specifically, how much, how often, and how long to administer drugs.”
The researchers said the mouse can be used to study any cancer type by crossing it with other models, limiting expression of Raichu-Rac to specific cell or tissue types. And the mouse can be adapted to study other diseases by expressing Raichu-Rac in different disease models.
“The great thing about this mouse is its flexibility and potential for looking at a broad range of diseases and molecular targets,” Dr Timpson said.
The mouse was created by Heidi Welch, PhD, of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK, although she said she cannot take all the credit.
“The credit must go to Professor Miki Matsuda, the genius who invented [Raichu-Rac] in the first place 12 years ago,” Dr Welch said. “He made his discovery freely available to the scientific community and has been very open about his findings since.”
“Miki Matsuda was super helpful in suggesting the expression levels we should be looking for and in recommending the exact biosensor we should use, out of many he developed.”